Twitter says 49 Russian accounts tried to sway Brexit voters

UK officials have been pressing Facebook and Twitter to investigate whether Russian-based accounts attempted to influence the 2016 Brexit vote. Previous responses from both platforms were found to be inadequate by the chair of the UK’s digital, culture, media and sport select committee and both companies were asked to do better. Now, BuzzFeed News reports that Twitter has in fact found some evidence of Russian meddling, albeit small in scope.

Twitter’s UK policy chief Nick Pickles told the House of Commons select committee at a hearing taking place today in Washington DC that 49 accounts linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency tweeted a collective 942 times during the Brexit campaign. They were retweeted 461 times and liked 637 times. “Forty-nine such accounts were active during the referendum campaign, which represents less than 0.005% of the total number of accounts that tweeted about the referendum,” he said.

A Twitter spokesperson told us, “As we noted in our previous letters to the Committee, our investigation has been ongoing and has not been limited to the information requested by the Committee or the Electoral Commission.” They confirmed the information above and said, “These tweets cumulatively were retweeted 461 times and were liked 637 times. On average this represents fewer than 10 likes per account and fewer than 13 retweets per account during the campaign, with most accounts receiving two or fewer likes and retweets. These are very low levels of engagement.”

That is a pretty small number of tweets, each with low engagement, though there was no information provided on how many people may have seen the 942 tweets in question. However, as Twitter has continued to look into Russian involvement with the US presidential election, the number of users who interacted with Russian-backed accounts keeps growing. While only time will tell if that’s also the case for Brexit-related activity, the US investigation suggests that number could rise.

The House of Commons select committee is hearing testimony from Google, YouTube and Facebook representatives as well.

Via: BuzzFeed News

Snap is backing away from reckless experiments and that’s okay

When Snap first started selling its video-recording glasses, the hype was real. The company had only focused on software before that, and was dipping its toe into hardware with a relatively simple product. Add to that the device’s limited availability via sporadic pop-up stores, and Spectacles fever spread rapidly. But hype alone cannot sustain a business. A year and a half later, with 150,000 Spectacles sold and hundreds of thousands reportedly languishing in warehouses, the furor has officially died out, apparently along with Snap’s hardware ambitions.

Although Snap minimized risk by keeping Spectacles supplies low and not stuffing the device full of superfluous tech, exploring a category it had little experience in was still a bold undertaking. Snap recognized this, admitting in its IPO that it has “limited manufacturing experience.” But the company also said in the same document that it’s comfortable waiting, “sometimes for a long time”, for its products to reach maturity and gain enough traction to become profitable. Which seemed to be the plan for Spectacles.

A year later, Snap appears to have abandoned Spectacles altogether, having barely mentioned the device in its last two earnings reports. The company’s taken to peddling the device in trendy retail stores, possibly in an attempt to get rid of leftover inventory. It also appears to be stalling on other potential hardware ventures. Rumors swirled last year that Snap was looking to acquire selfie-drone maker Zero Zero Robotics, but nothing has come of those purported discussions yet.

Even the company’s quirkiest moves of late have been relatively safe. It sold a dancing hotdog costume last Halloween and launched an in-app store to sell merchandise featuring its popular AR characters, which is a page right out of messaging giant Line’s playbook.

Apparel and plush toys don’t generally require as much investment as hardware like Spectacles, and Snap is already reaping the rewards. It cut down cash spent by 49 percent from the previous quarter, leading to better margins. Simply put, with less money spent, Snap lost less money, which is not only what investors like to hear, but also bodes well for the company’s future.

Meanwhile, Snap has doubled down on refining what made it massively successful in the first place: its app. Over the past few months, it’s improved its Android app, reducing crash rates and frame drops. As a result, Spiegel said “the retention rate of new Android users increased by nearly 20 percent when compared to last year.” Snapchat also dominated on iOS, coming in second on the App store’s list of 2017’s most popular titles.

Gaining and keeping new users is crucial for businesses like Snap’s, which relies heavily on advertising revenue. If the company wants to keep experimenting with new projects, it needs to start making a profit.

There is room for the app to keep generating revenue for the company. Snap’s relatively new Maps feature still isn’t being monetized; it’s ad-free for now. In response to a question on the latest earnings call, Spiegel said that he doesn’t expect to try and monetize Maps in the near future. If the company did eventually capitalize on Maps, though, that would be an obvious and relatively safe way to gain more income.

But don’t expect Spiegel and his team to stop taking risks altogether. As indicated in its IPO, Snap is happy to experiment without immediate payouts. And that’s not unwise, as long as it’s conducted carefully. After all, can you truly innovate without a little risk?

Top female player wins Olympics-backed ‘StarCraft 2’ tournament

Sasha ‘Scarlett’ Hostyn is one of the most skilled and successful women in eSports, and she just won a major StarCraft 2 tournament. Not just any competition, either: An Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament was held in Pyeongchang ahead of this weekend’s Winter Olympics and, most importantly, is the first competition backed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In other words, as Polygon pointed out, Scarlett became the first female winner of a big international StarCraft 2 tournament, which itself is a promising foray in eSports and Olympic collaboration.

Scarlett plays for Team Expert in Canada and has been lauded for her success — even making the Guinness World Records as the highest-earning female player back in 2016, and has earned over $200,000 in winnings over her career, Polygon noted. Her victory at IEM is additionally notable given she was the only woman to compete this year.

Wouldn’t be the winter olympics without a Canadian victory o /

— Sasha (@onfireScarlett) February 7, 2018

The news comes days after rumors that the Overwatch League may sign its first female player — none other than Geguri, the South Korean player who squashed claims of cheating by dominating her accuser in a 1v1 Overwatch duel back in 2016.

Via: Polygon

Source: Intel

Samsung’s Olympic Galaxy Note 8 isn’t for sale, but I wish it was

In addition to the honor of representing their homelands, this year’s Olympic athletes will also receive something else: a limited-edition Galaxy Note 8. Unlike Samsung’s first Olympic phone, though, it’s unlikely that this version will ever go on sale to the public. To own one, you have to be a world-class athlete or an Olympic staff member whose job is to support world-class athletes. To play with one, though, you just have to write things on the internet, so here we are.

To be quite honest, I’m bummed by Samsung’s limited Olympic production run. Like the Pixel 2 XL before it, this Galaxy Note 8 blends an all-black face with a white back meant to evoke PyeongChang’s snow and bitter cold. It looks, well, fantastic. The rest of the Galaxy Note 8s color options Samsung devised were pretty understated, but the bright white finish around back — complete with those Olympic rings — makes me wish Samsung did white phones more frequently. The S Pen is white too, which made it easier to spot among the rubble on the blasted wasteland that is my office desk.

Beyond those flourishes, this is functionally the same Galaxy Note 8 we reviewed (and mostly loved) last year. A special dark theme is enabled by default, making app icons look like Olympic-colored wireframes, and you’ll find the official PyeongChang 2018 guide plus an app called PinQuest for collecting “exclusive” virtual pins around the chilly Olympic Village. (Apparently, collecting Olympic Pins is already a thing, but the allure of intangible pins seems pretty limited.) Strip all that stuff away and you’re left with a very familiar foundation.

Actually, it’s more familiar to some than others. I sort of doubt anyone at the Games would particularly care — at least for the next week or so, anyway — but they’re getting the model with 64GB of internal storage and Samsung’s Exynos 8895 chipset. While Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed its update plans, this suggests that these special edition Notes might get their long-awaited Oreo builds before our Snapdragon 835 models.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

This all might sound a little frivolous, but these phones will do more at the Games than just promote the Samsung brand. In a recent release, the International Olympic Committee confirmed that the Notes “contain essential logistical and competition information for the athletes,” which is why representatives from countries like North Korea and Iran will receive the phones despite not being able to take them home. Sadly, I couldn’t fool the phone or any of its apps into thinking I was an up-and-coming curling prodigy, so there was no way to access any of that juicy information.

This limited-edition Note ultimately isn’t much more than a clever marketing ploy, but it was still a little thrilling to handle a (very small) piece of Olympic history. The opening ceremony officially kicks off early tomorrow Eastern time, and I’ll be half-heartedly checking to see how many competitors will be whipping out their Notes in the middle of it.

Qualcomm will power 5G devices from LG, Sony and more in 2019

Since the first 5G standard was approved two months ago, the industry has been racing to deliver next-generation mobile data to the world. Qualcomm made two announcements today that show us real-world 5G is almost here. First, it revealed a slew of consumer electronics companies that have committed to making 5G-ready mobile devices starting in 2019, using Qualcomm’s X50 5G modem. This list includes LG, Sony Mobile, HTC, ASUS, Xiaomi, ZTE, Netgear and more. Don’t forget, Samsung also announced a partnership with Qualcomm last month to work on 5G technology through the next few years.

But what use are 5G-ready devices if the carriers haven’t rolled out support? Not much. The good news, that Qualcomm also announced today, is that 18 mobile operators around the world will be testing 5G networks on the same X50 modem. US participants include AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint, while major players elsewhere like Vodafone, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo and China Mobile are also on board.

There are some notable absentees, of course. Huawei, which has been making its own chipsets, is missing, as is Apple. That’s no surprise, especially given the iPhone maker is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Qualcomm. On the carrier side, T-Mobile isn’t mentioned in today’s announcement, although the Uncarrier has worked with the chip maker in the past on gigabit LTE.

Still, these commitments indicate that, at the very least, the brands revealed today will be racing to deliver 5G-ready devices in 2019. With carriers like AT&T already deploying mobile 5G in test cities, it looks like we don’t have to wait too much longer to get connected to the next generation. But like what happened with 4G LTE, the 5G onslaught may face challenges, so don’t expect the rollout to be widespread and speedy at first.

Source: Qualcomm (OEMs), Qualcomm (carriers)

‘Overwatch’s’ new Capture The Flag map and competitive mode is live

For the second year, Blizzard has launched a seasonal event to celebrate the Lunar New Year. As promised in a Developer Update video earlier this week, players get a new Thailand-inspired map and competitive mode for Capture The Flag, as well as new skins. There are a couple more changes, too — including, at long last, the ability to change your hero’s outfit at the start of the match.

Let the Overwatch #LunarNewYear celebration…begin!

Here’s to happiness, prosperity, good fortune, and great fun.

🎆🏮 https://t.co/0EioiAeodV pic.twitter.com/aWvShLkA4S

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 8, 2018

Since the inaugural Lunar New Year event introduced the Capture The Flag mode, it’s only fitting that this year’s would build on it. The new map Ayutthaya, the first made exclusively for CTF, has a look split between an ancient temple on one side and modern buildings on the other.

Teams can’t tie anymore, either: Should time run out while the score is tied, a sudden death mechanic will kick in that starts the match over with both sides’ flags far closer to the middle, and the first to capture wins. The competitive CTF mode is as you’d expect, with placement matches, skill rating tiers and leaderboards. There are also several gameplay tweaks, like making flag pickup instant, which can be viewed on the event’s page.

There are new skins for Genji, Mercy, Zarya, and Pharah themed to the Four Symbols in the Chinese constellations, along with Magistrate McCree and Black Lily Widowmaker. Plus, you can scoop up last year’s rad outfits patterned after the Chinese epic Journey To The West. There’s also a few new highlight intros and emotes. But perhaps the greatest addition to the game is something we’ve been waiting for since launch day…

Fashion-forward heroes, rejoice! 👏 👏

Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to change skins at the start of a match. pic.twitter.com/XNweMKFZFw

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 8, 2018

Source: Overwatch

Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $130 on Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

InFocus ScreenPlay SP1080 Projector

Street Price: $500; Deal Price: $400

At $400, this is the lowest price we’ve seen for the InFocus ScreenPlay SP1080 in over a year. While we saw some great pricing around Black Friday of 2016, we didn’t note similar drops this year as this projector, for whatever reason, has largely hovered around $500. Discounted to $400, at $100 cheaper, it’s a good value when compared to the pricing we’re seeing for our top pick in the category, the BenQ TH670, and our other recommendation, the even more expensive BenQ HT2050.

The InFocus ScreenPlay SP1080 Projector is our runner-up pick in our guide to the best cheap projector. Chris Heinonen wrote, “If the TH670 isn’t available and you don’t want to spend the extra money on BenQ’s HT2050 or HT1075, the InFocus ScreenPlay SP1080 is your next best option. In our tests, this model came in second to the BenQ TH670 in color accuracy and contrast ratio. Unlike the TH670, it offers no way to disable BrilliantColor. It also provides only a single HDMI input, and it lacks a standard USB Type-A port to power a streaming stick.”

DJI Phantom 4 Pro

Street Price: $1500; Deal Price: $1243

At $1243, this is a good deal on our upgrade drone pick, the DJI Phantom 4 Pro. If you’re looking for better image quality (4K at 60 fps) from a drone, this is the drone you should be looking at. Usually $1500, we’ve seen a number of drops in recent months, most to around $1400 but the most notable was an eBay daily deal (sold via 6ave) that saw it about $40 cheaper than this. Even so, this is a nice discount and is shipped and sold via Amazon, offering some additional piece of mind. Pick this one up while it lasts, as drops for this drone haven’t lasted long.

The DJI Phantom 4 Pro is our pick for experienced photographers and videographers in our guide to the best drones. Mike Perlman wrote, “If our other picks are akin to flying GoPro Heros (that’s literally what the Karma is), the DJI Phantom 4 Pro is more like a flying Sony RX100. Its 1-inch sensor is nearly four times larger than the 1/2.3-inch sensors found in the Mavic Pro and Karma, and it can shoot 20-megapixel raw and JPEG still images as well as 4K 60-frames-per-second video. Its lens has a mechanical shutter, and manual controls abound, so experienced photographers can dial in their preferred settings. Relative to our top pick, it also has a more advanced collision-sensing system and longer battery life (a 25-minute average in PCMag tests), and it has a rugged magnesium-alloy chassis. Additionally, you get all the same intelligent flight modes as you do with the Mavic Pro, as well as Sport Mode (which enables a 45 mph top speed) and an interesting new mode called Draw (draw a line on the screen, and the drone will fly that route).”

Bose QuietComfort 25 Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Street Price: $280; Deal Price: $150

The QuietComfort 25 wired noise-cancelling headphones are back on sale at $150, matching the low we’ve seen for them. This deal comes via Newegg, is set to last for a week, and is for the Apple-centric version (though they work fine for audio with Android devices with a 3.5mm jack or adapter as well, just lack some of the call controls). Pick these up while they last.

The Bose QuietComfort 25 wired headphones are our runner-up pick in our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones. Geoffrey Morrison wrote, “The Bose QuietComfort 25 still—three years running—have the best overall noise cancelling in a wired headphone. If your goal is to drop as much outside noise as possible, these are the best option. Their sound is “fine,” not bad, just not compelling. No one will hate the sound, but no one will love it either. After being our pick for three years, we’ve moved them to the runner-up spot because we think more people would be better served with wireless headphones. If that’s not you, these are fantastic and a bit cheaper than the QC35s.”

Aukey 12W Travel Charger

Street Price: $9; Deal Price: $6 w/ code AUKEYU32

Use code AUKEYU32 at checkout for a discount on the Aukey 12W Travel Charger in white. The coupon code drops the price of this multiport wall charger from $9 to $6. While we’ve posted this charger as low as $5, $6 is still a solid deal for what you’re getting.

The Aukey 12W Travel Charger is a small but powerful charger we like in our guide to the best multiport USB wall charger. Nick Guy wrote, “For an impressive amount of power in a tiny package, we like Aukey’s 12W / 2.4A Home Travel USB Wall Charger Adapter with AIPower Tech. You get as much juice as you’d get with Apple’s iPad charger and an extra charging port, in a much smaller package—a scant 1.4 by 1.2 by 1.2 inches with its prongs folded in—for half the price. The Aukey is the smallest full-speed iPad/tablet charger we’ve found, and it’s a great travel companion for charging a tablet and phone overnight, for fast-charging two smartphones, or for just charging your phone and a Bluetooth headset or speakers. (It provides a total of 2.4 amps of current, which means it can fast-charge an iPad by itself; if you connect two tablets, or a tablet and a smartphone, those 2.4 amps will be split between them.)”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to thewirecutter.com.

Twitch updates policies on hate speech, harassment and sexual content

The fight against online hate speech and harassment continues to gain momentum. Twitter’s new policies against such behavior went live last November, while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg began the new year with a new pledge to combat abuse and hate, too. Now video game live-streaming platform Twitch has updated its community guidelines to be clearer about what constitutes harassment, hate speech, and sexual content, which are all already prohibited. The new rules will go into effect February 19th at 9:00 AM Pacific Time.

Last year, Twitch pivoted to allow more non-gaming content on its service. Since then, Twitch says that it’s gotten complaints that its guidelines weren’t clear or strong enough. “Today’s update focuses on our anti-harassment and sexual content policies,” the company wrote on its blog. “Our goal is to increase clarity, strength, and consistency across our entire moderation framework, as well as the frequency and level of detail of our moderation communications.”

From now on, any content the company deems as hateful will result in an immediate suspension from the platform. Twitch will also suspend those who direct hateful or harassing conduct toward its members from other apps and services. Twitch is also updating its policies to further refine what content it deems as sexual in nature, taking into consideration more contextual elements like the title of your stream, camera angles, emotes, panels, clothing you wear, overlays and chat moderation. Twitch will reach out to streamers whose current and past content may violate these new rules in the meantime to help them transition away from it.

Source: Twitch

Qualcomm rejects Broadcom’s revised takeover bid

Broadcom will have to try again in its bid to take over Qualcomm. The Snapdragon chip-maker has rejected a revised proposal to buy all of its outstanding shares, stating that it “materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment the Board would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction.” As a refresher, Broadcom had originally offered to pay $130 billion to acquire all of Qualcomm back in November. That sum was rejected, so Broadcom followed up this month with a revised proposal that valued Qualcomm’s shares at $82 each.

Clearly, Qualcomm’s board of directors don’t think this is enough. In its statement confirming the second rejection, Qualcomm “offered to meet with Broadcom to see if it can address the serious deficiencies in value and certainty in its proposal.”

In a letter published with the statement, Qualcomm wants Broadcom to answer a few pertinent questions, including the following:

• What is the true highest price at which you would be prepared to acquire Qualcomm? Is it $82 per share or is it higher?
• Is Broadcom willing to commit to take whatever actions are necessary to ensure the proposed transaction closes?

It appears from the first question that Qualcomm thinks Broadcom is lowballing. As for what “actions are necessary to ensure the proposed transaction closes,” which appear to be related to “significant regulatory hurdles”. In the letter, Qualcomm said it’s “indisputable that if Qualcomm entered into a merger agreement and, after an extended regulatory review period the transaction did not close, Qualcomm would be enormously and irreparably damaged.” Because of that, Qualcomm wants Broadcom to be extremely clear and specific about how far it would go, so that it can “properly evaluate the risk to Qualcomm’s shareholders.”

It’s obvious that these two have a lot to discuss before any progress can be made. If this meeting does happen and the two parties can agree on a price, then perhaps third time may be the charm.

Source: Qualcomm

32 senators want to know if US regulators halted Equifax probe

Earlier this week, a Reuters report suggested that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had halted its investigation into last year’s massive Equifax data breach. Reuters sources said that even basic steps expected in such a probe hadn’t been taken and efforts had stalled since Mick Mulvaney (pictured above) took over as head of the CFPB late last year. Now, 31 Democratic senators and one Independent have written a letter to Mulvaney asking if that is indeed the case and if so, why.

Reuters sources said that Mulvaney has neither ordered subpoenas against Equifax nor collected any sworn testimony from company executives. Additionally, reviews of how Equifax protects its data and on-site cybersecurity exams of other credit bureaus — which the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency all offered to assist with — have been put on hold. The bank regulators who had offered to help were reportedly told that there were no exams planned and their assistance wouldn’t be needed.

In their letter, the senators expressed their concern over these reports and reiterated the duty the CFPB has to not only investigate the breach but to bring action against Equifax if deemed necessary. “Consumer reporting agencies and the data they collect play a central role in consumers’ access to credit and the fair and competitive pricing of that credit,” they wrote. “Therefore, the CFPB has a duty to supervise consumer reporting agencies, investigate how this breach has or will harm consumers and bring enforcement actions as necessary.” They specifically ask Mulvaney and Deputy Director Leandra English whether the probe has been halted and if so, why and under whose direction. They also ask about any plans for on-site exams of Equifax and other bureaus, what steps they’ve taken in the investigation so far and whether they’re coordinating with the FTC and its Equifax probe.

The senators have requested a response by February 19th.

Source: Senator Brian Schatz